High Impact Instructional Strategies

Purpose

Phase IV sample high impact instructional strategies and lesson planning resources were developed with the same intentionality and purpose to stay true to the key elements found within the sample unit development of Phase III:

Respond to requests from schools and districts

Focus the work around ideas

Support teaching to greater intellectual depth of the learner

Emphasize TRANSFER and APPLICATION of

Concepts

Content

Skills

In Phase IV of the District Sample Curriculum Project, lesson planning samples will be more varied in look and content because they reflect varied elements within each discipline to illustrate that there is not ONE approach to for effective lesson design. Considering that there is a whole host of variables that require a level of customization, our samples reflect that there are multiple ways to:

plan instructional lessons,

meet the needs of students,

honor individual styles and training of teachers,

consider requirements of local school systems, and

understand the nuances of the disciplines.

Acknowledging that the use of instructional strategies and lesson planning processes are very personalized, this phase of the project provides overarching key elements as guidance but the samples provided are as unique as the educators who shared them.

Phase IV General Training Resources

Goals

The goals of Phase IV center on capturing high impact instructional strategies specific to each discipline, illustrating the metacognitive considerations educators access when planning for lessons, and highlighting the reflective practice that is inherently followed by educators once a lesson is delivered.

Research-Based Instructional Strategies- Teachers today are privy to an innumerable array of instructional ideas, tips, and processes. The high impact instructional strategies highlighted in this project are intended to provide focus on strategies that have a strong research base. The strategies provided are not meant to be exhaustive but are intended to provide a well-rounded, foundational repertoire of instructional strategies that are unique to the content area. Each content area page contains two resources:

A summary of research that informed the selection of the high impact instructional strategies in a one-page reference sheet,

A reference sheet of high impact instructional strategies cross connected to essential skills.

Metacognitive Considerations- Finding example lessons for any grade or content area is often an easy task with a simple online search. These online lessons, however, rarely share the decision-making process "behind the scenes" that is a critical component to successful lesson plan delivery. The lesson plan guide used for Phase IV follows a simple lesson plan structure that includes guiding questions to "make visible" the decision-making process at each step in the design and delivery of the lesson.

Reflective Practice- After lesson delivery, it is important to engage in reflection to determine if the lesson had the intended effect. Educator reflection and student reflection is often overlooked and under-utilized usually because of time constraints. Emphasizing reflective practice as a critical practice helps ensure that the instructional outcome is not simply "teaching" a lesson but "teaching AND learning" has occurred to meet the desired outcome for students. The banks of student and teacher reflection question are provided to support this process.